Cape York is the northernmost point of Australia and is located on the tip of the Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland. Such is the area’s remoteness that it’s closer to Papua New Guinea and Port Moresby than it is to Cairns, the closest major Australian city. The peninsula is considered to be the largest unspoiled wilderness in Australia.
You can drive to Cape York provided you have a 4WD and you’re planning to visit during the dry season. The roads to Cape York are a mixture of paved roads, unpaved roads, and corrugated dirt tracks. There are also a number of river crossings to traverse if you want to reach the tip of the peninsula and some of these have challenging entry and exit points. These same river crossings become impassable during the wet season as the volume of water swells with the increased rainfall. The combination of the river crossings and the rough track, even along stretches of the Peninsula Development Road (PDR) makes a trip in a 2WD vehicle too challenging.
The best and cheapest way to get to Cape York is by driving. It’s a long way from any of the nearest cities in Queensland, and the road is often unsealed, bumpy, and hard-going. Despite this, if you have a 4WD, a sense of adventure, and you’re traveling in the dry season, you’ll be able to make the journey.
The table below shows the distance and travel time from other cities on the east coast to Cape Point. Note the travel times are changeable based on conditions, and you’ll need to factor in plenty of rest and sightseeing stops along the way.
Starting Point | Destination | Distance | Travel Time |
Brisbane | Cape York | 2702 km | 33 hours |
Cairns | Cape York | 1030 km | 14 hours |
Cooktown | Cape York | 862 km | 12 hours |
Townsville | Cape York | 1353 km | 17 hours |
If you don’t want to drive to Cape York, the only alternative is to take a flight. There are options to fly to nearby Horn Island or Bamaga with Skytrans and Qantas. However, once you reach these destinations, local transport options can be very limited. There’s also the option of taking a scenic flight tour out of Cairns or Cooktown, although these trips are expensive and cost upwards of $1500 per person for a one-day trip.
Driving from Cairns to Cape York is one of Australia’s great road trips. It starts on the paved State Route 44, which heads north out of Cairns past Port Douglas before snaking back to the junction with State Route 81 close to Mount Molley. From here, you head 206 km north along State Route 81 to the town of Laura. From Laura onwards, you’re on the PDR, a mixture of paved, unpaved, and corrugated dirt tracks. You’ll need to continue along this road past the towns of Coen and Archer River before turning right onto Telegraph Road. From here, it’s a continuous northbound route for 357 km past the town of Wenlock to Cape York.
The Brisbane to Cape York road trip is even more epic than the Cairns route. The quickest and most direct route is to follow the A1 from Brisbane to Laura. From Laura, you can follow the itinerary described above from Cairns to Cape York. Of course, driving such a distance from Brisbane along the motorway misses out on many popular destinations along the east coast, such as Noosa, Airlie Beach, Fraser Island, and Cairns, so we’d recommend stopping along the way.
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